1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a connector and to a connector assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-203635 discloses a connector assembly with male and female housings that can be connected together. A lock arm is cantilevered forward on the female housing and has a lock hole that engages a lock on the male housing to hold the housings together. The lock presses and deforms the lock arm in the process of connecting the housings. However, the lock arm is restored resiliently when the housings are connected properly. As a result, the lock enters the lock hole and engages the edge of the lock hole to hold the two housings together. A lock protecting portion is formed on the female housing and covers the front end of the lock arm. Thus, the lock arm cannot be caught and warped by a wire or the like before the housings are connected.
The base end of the lock arm is exposed to the outside in the above-described connector. Thus, an operator may inadvertently place a finger on the lock arm during the connecting operation. A returning movement of the lock arm will be sluggish if the connecting operation is performed while the finger contacts a movable part of the lock arm and might reduce the tactile feeling of the connecting operation.
The invention was developed in view of the above situation and an object thereof is to improve operability.